Rasmus Højlund Rasmus Højlund left Napoli's meeting with Arsenal talking about the back line more than the result. After Arsenal's 1-0 Champions League win and clean sheet, he singled out Gabriel Magalhães as the anchor and called the defenders "best of the best".
Gabriel gets the praise
“It’s hard for me to rank them because they obviously have a lot of good defenders,” Højlund told goal.com. He added: “I think also Gabriel is the anchor of the team, I think he’s really, really strong he knows how to handle a duel.”
That is not a throwaway compliment. Arsenal kept Napoli out despite missing William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera and Jurrien Timber from the starting lineup, and Martin Ødegaard scored with 15 minutes remaining.
Højlund also framed Arsenal as a deep side, saying: “They have Mosquera and Saliba out and they just put Konsa in and so it’s a strong side.” The lineup detail around Konsa is not independently matched here, but the point stands: he came away impressed by how well Arsenal held together without several starters.
Arsenal's European numbers back up the impression. They conceded 4 goals in 8 Champions League matches last season, and their Champions League run opened with 5 straight wins. That is the kind of record that makes Højlund's praise feel earned rather than polite.
Højlund's own form gives the quote a bit more weight too. He has scored 2 goals in 4 Serie A appearances this season, and has scored in each of Napoli's last two Serie A games.
With Arsenal due back in Champions League action after a result like this, Gabriel will keep carrying the biggest load in the middle of the defence. Højlund has already made his view clear, and it was the centre-back, not the scorer, who left the stronger impression.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →
